Communicating with Citizens in Emergency Management: “Popularizing” Technical Content and/or Bonding?

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Università degli Studi di Padova

Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari

Corso di Laurea Magistrale in

Lingue Moderne per la Comunicazione e la Cooperazione Internazionale Classe LM-38

Tesi di Laurea

Communicating with Citizens in

Emergency Management:

“Popularizing” Technical Content

and/or Bonding?

Relatore Laureando

Prof. Maria Teresa Musacchio Alessandra Badon

n° matr.1108672 / LMLCC

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Introduction

The purpose of this thesis is to present some considerations on the complex process of communication in emergency-related contexts. In order to reach this aim, the analysis of a selected corpus of fact sheets, i.e. texts with informative intent, will be offered; attention will be placed on two categories of public: present and future experts in emergency management, and non-experts, that is ordinary citizens.

In today’s technological and constantly developing world, we are surrounded by information: news about political changes and revolutions, information about economics, entertainment news and gossip and, last but not least, information about the environment travel almost at the speed of light. In particular, topics such as climate change and emergencies related to natural hazards are central in our society; together with new regulations on environmental protection and respect, emergency-related studies are also developing. The main topic of this work is precisely disaster-related emergencies and their management: experts in this field aim to achieve improvements both in communication and in action. Nonetheless, the aim of emergency managers is not easy to reach: in fact, nowadays, everyone can access information and, most of all, contribute to it. This is why it is often impossible to discern whether the information provided and communicated, via social media in particular, is reliable or not.

Basing of these considerations, this work places itself as a possible new contribution to the developing emergency-related studies. My final aim is to understand if there exists any balance between the information provided in disaster situations and the way this information is communicated to the public. More specifically, I aim to understand whether the texts provided to the general public (non-experts) by official authorities (experts) are an example of effective and clear communication.

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Italian and English; more specifically, Italian texts for non-experts, English texts for non-experts, Italian texts for experts and, finally, English texts for experts.

The chapters devoted to the review of literature will be organized as follows: the first chapter focuses on emergency management as a fundamental element in emergency situations, more specifically the ones caused by natural hazards such as flood. Some basic notions related to emergency management and its four phases, namely mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, will be presented, in order to provide a pertinent theoretical background for the analysis, and introduce the readers into the work. Chapter 1 also focuses on communication: some definitions of the concept will be given, together with an insight on its different aspects, basing on the works of some authoritative voices from the XX century and XXI centuries. Attention will be on communication in emergency contexts and on special languages, the ones used in scientific domains in particular. The concepts of scientific dissemination and of popularization will prove to be particularly relevant in this study. Attention will be given to the role of communication in the four phases of emergency management and to mediated communication: communication channels will be introduced and emphasis will be on the ones used by the American FEMA and the Italian Protezione Civile. Finally, I will give a short introduction of fact sheets, that is the corpus that will be analysed.

The second chapter will focus on terminology: terminology studies and their historical and linguistic development will be delineated, together with some definitions of terminology. The main concepts belonging to today’s terminology will be introduced and explained; attention will be placed to two approaches in particular, one more theoretical and one more practical. First, an overview of contemporary “Sociocognitive Terminology” (Temmerman 2000: 34) will be given. Second, focus will shift to terminology in today’s digital society: terminological projects (TP) will be introduced, and their main characteristics and issues will be presented. Project Slándáil will be introduced as an interesting European TP which involves countries such as Italy, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom and which can aims to study today’s disaster related communication and terminology. I will briefly describe what Project Slándáil is and conclude with the explanation of why the Slándáil Terminology Wiki can be considered not only a relevant example of terminology study, but also a substantial piece of this work.

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will be on the tools used to process the data, on the data storage organization and on the variables and models used for the analysis.

The textual analysis of the documents will be provided in the fourth chapter: the analysis will begin with the six texts for experts, the three Italian ones first, and the three English ones after. It will end with the three Italian texts for non-experts and the three English ones for non-experts. For the textual analysis of each text, two tools will be used: WordSmith Tools 4.0 will provide data on frequency lists, keywords and collocates. Tint and Word will be used to obtain the readability index of, respectively, the Italian texts and the English ones. Finally, the obtained results will be commented and discussed.

The fifth chapter will focus on the analysis of the visual aspects of the six selected emergency texts for non-experts: the visual presentation plays a key role in the communicative potential of documents for the general public, and the fact sheets I selected are a clear example of this. The chapter will begin with a description of the methods followed for the analysis. Finally, the results of the analysis of the visual aspects of the texts: it will begin with the 3 Italian texts for non-experts, and continue with the 3 English texts for non-experts. Each variable taken into consideration will be discussed and commented.

The sixth and final chapter will specifically focus on emergency-related terminology: I will provide an example of my work in the Terminology Wiki and clarify why it can be considered a substantial piece of the project. This chapter will focus on the Slándáil Terminology Wiki, which is a terminology project (TP) funded by the European Union and devoted to emergency-related terminology in particular. The challenging process of the creation of terminology wikis will be explored, emphasising my contribution to the project. First, the methods used to carry out the task will be indicated, together with the data selection procedure and the list of the source documents. Second, the different steps of the analysis will be introduced, focusing on the tool used to organize and store the data, and on the variables and models used. Finally, the results of my contribution will be presented in tables and discussed. I selected the wiki page flood operations as a significant example of my contribution to the expansion and improvement of the current vocabulary.

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Chapter 1

Emergency Management and Communication

1.1 Introduction

“Natural disasters do not respect borders or distinguish between citizens” (Slándáil Magazine 2015: 3): it is starting from this essential yet truthful statement that the importance of management in emergency situations, more specifically the ones caused by natural hazards, will be introduced and explained. Disaster-related emergencies are a consistent problem in our society: we are constantly bombarded with news concerning all types of hazards, from the devastating earthquakes in central Italy and in the Eastern hemisphere, to the floods and tsunamis in America, and so on.

The need for awareness of the potentially dangerous situations and the consequences of natural disasters is, therefore, essential for people all over the world, from emergency-management experts to ordinary citizens. In such a context, emergency-related studies have progressively become central. This field of study aims to elaborate and provide emergency management effective measures in order to face disaster-related emergencies in the best possible way, both in communication and in action.

First, this chapter will focus on how an emergency situation can be defined. Moreover, a definition of flood will be provided, it being the natural hazard on which this work is based; I will shortly outline the reason for this choice. Second, focus will be given to the process of emergency management. This process is composed of the following phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery. Each of these aspects will be dealt with in a specific paragraph. A short comment on the fundamental relation between emergency management and communication will be given, introducing the concept of communication. I will reflect on the role of communication in each of the four phases of emergency management. Then, emphasis will be on communication only: a short definition of the term will be provided, together with a description of its different elements and characteristics; attention will be on mediated communication in particular.

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1.2 Emergency Situations and Emergency Management 1.2.1. Emergency Situations

A description of emergency, or disaster, situations will be provided here. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) suggests that the terms emergency and disaster can be interchangeable in the event of a natural hazard. UNISDR defines the concept of disaster as follows:

A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. (www.unisdr.org)

Such interference (“disruption”) can be limited in space and time, but it can also affect wider areas for a longer period; consequences are generally negative, and they often require the intervention of national and international agents.

Among the major possible consequences of a disaster, there are the malfunctioning of services and, most of all, the damage to “physical, mental and social well-being” (ibid.) of community members. The impact of disasters can also be seen as a combination of different factors, among which the “vulnerability” (ibid.) of the affected community or society to face the potential damage caused by the hazard.

Natural hazards are phenomena that depend on nature and its processes, and they include, among others, extreme cold and extreme heat, earthquakes, landslides, fires, wildfires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tornadoes and floods. In this work, emphasis will be given to the phenomenon of flood. The reason for this choice is the following: floods can be considered the most widespread “natural-weather event” (FEMA 1998: 2) in the world. It is indeed very common in the U.S.A. and in Italy, where this study focuses. Also, there is much useful material and documentation about this natural hazard. To begin with, an introductory definition of the term flood is needed. The American Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides the following:

a general and temporal condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from overflow of inland or tidal waters, unusual or rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters, or mudslides/mudflows caused by accumulation of water. (2010: B-5)

Floods are a consistent problem: they can cause real damage to buildings and homes, they can disrupt the functioning of streets and ways of communication and, most of all, they can cause life losses and serious injuries. In order to avoid or, more realistically, to diminish the “vulnerability” (UNIDSR, www.unisdr.org) of the communities in danger zones, specific emergency measures are being developed and adopted by experts in emergency management and by official authorities.

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face. Moreover, developing an emergency plan is essential to prevent these risks from happening, or at least from causing inevitable damage. It is in this context that the concept of emergency management can be introduced.

1.2.2. Emergency Management

The term emergency management “generally refers to activities associated with avoiding and responding to natural and human-caused hazards”, according to the American National Government analyst Lindsay (2012: Summary). More specifically, emergency management has a wide spectrum of application and its organization is based on different “actors […] depending on the context and severity of the event” (ibid.): in fact, emergency management involves not only local, State and Federal government entities, but also private organizations and nongovernmental institutions (ibid.).

A brief outline the history of the term emergency management and its components will be provided. According to FEMA, emergency management was created in 1979, when “five Federal agencies that dealt with many types of emergencies consolidated to form FEMA” (1998: 2); it eventually evolved over the years.Three different components

constitute emergency management; they are listed in the following table (Figure 1.1): All types of hazards There are many common features of technological

and natural disasters and attack, suggesting that many of the same management strategies can apply to all emergencies.

An emergency management partnership

Finding resources for disaster management requires a partnership among all levels of government (local, State, and Federal) and the private sector (business and industry, voluntary organizations, and the public). This approach also allows the disaster victims to contribute to emergency management solutions. Emergency managers and the animal-care community can collaborate in such a partnership. An emergency life cycle Disasters do not just appear one day — they exist

throughout time and have a life cycle of occurrence. This cycle is matched by a series of management phases: establish strategies to mitigate hazards; prepare for and respond to emergencies; and recover from effects.

Figure 1.1 The three components of emergency management (FEMA 1998: 2).

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to all-hazards emergency management and, specifically to this study, to natural hazard events.

Emergency management is articulated in four main phases, that are to be thought “as a continuum” (Haddow and Haddow 2010: 93). They are, namely: mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery. The following diagram (Figure 1.2) shows these four stages and their fundamental bond:

Figure 1.2 The Four Phases of Emergency Management (FEMA 1998: 2).

It seems relevant to underline that these four phases are not only strongly linked to each other, but they also cannot be perceived as distinct entities. In fact, as stated in a Congressional Research Service report, while they can be considered singly because “conceptually useful for targeting efforts and resources”, they can “often overlap” (Lindsay 2012: 3). Moreover, some suggest that the four phases have a cyclical nature: each stage is essential for the development of the others, and only the improvement of each stage can lead to the creation of balanced and effective emergency management plans for present and future disasters. Since each stage requires the accurate attention, I will devote each of the following sections to one specific phase. The order will be the following: mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery.

1.2.2.1 Mitigation

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The main aim of mitigation is “to prompt action by decision makers – homeowners, small business owners, community leaders – to take action to reduce future disaster impacts”, as is underlined by Haddow and Haddow (2014: 95). According to them, four elements need to be taken into account in order to develop a proper mitigation program: first of all, the involvement of all the members of the community, both experts and non-experts, is essential. Second, the possible risks that the community may encounter should be identified; third, the community should point to the development of the proper plan to face these risks. Finally, the element of political and public funding and support should be considered. It is in relation to this fourth step that communication, mostly through education and social media, comes into play.

1.2.2.2 Preparedness

Preparedness is the second phase of the emergency management process. It is often confused with the previous phase, that is mitigation, but its nature is different: in fact, while the first phase should aim to reduce disasters and their impact, preparedness is designed to face them (Haddow and Haddow 2014: 93). This phase can be defined as:

A state of readiness to respond to a disaster, crisis, or any other type of emergency situation. It includes activities, programs, and systems that exist before an emergency that are used to support and enhance response to an emergency or disaster. (Blanchard 2007: 625)

In short, preparedness is the process of organizing and preparing to face an emergency before it happens.

According to Haddow and Haddow, there are two types of preparedness programs: the first type focuses on the preparation for the next disaster, while the second type focuses on the creation and spread of the “warning information” to the people involved, indicating whether “to evacuate or shelter-in-place as the next disaster approaches” (2014: 98). Basically, a preparedness program should provide the following information: evacuation plans and instructions for emergency kits, water and food provisions; lists of emergency numbers to call in case of need; instructions on what to do and how to deal with, for example, domestic animals; information on how and where to find temporary and safe shelters. In order to make both these programs effective, the element of communication is central.

1.2.2.3 Response

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It is true that “the primary burden of emergency response” belong to emergency management official organizations and to authorities (Blanchard 2007: 4). Nonetheless, also common citizens and volunteers play a key role in this phase: it is during response that people must act promptly to protect other people and animals, and, most importantly, to save lives. Timeliness is clearly essential, as much as timely communication is.

1.2.2.4 Recovery

Recovery is the fourth and final phase of the emergency management process. As the word itself suggests, it can be defined as the passage that leads from a negative situation to a positive one. Recovery is characterized by activities that might involve a considerable amount of time after an emergency and that “are intended to restore essential services and repair damage caused by the event” (Lindsay 2012: 3).

This phase consists in rearranging your life and the life of a community after a disaster has happened. This, according to Blanchard (2007: 680, 681) should be done in two ways: first, the basic services of the community should be implemented, in order to return operative as soon as possible. Among these services there would be, for example, public safety, housing for people who have lost their homes, and temporary schools.

Second, economic growth and people’s confidence in the community and in future improvements should be encouraged. It is important to underline that recovery is strongly linked to the three previous phases of emergency management; as suggested before, the passage from one of the four phases to the other is indeed a continuum. Recovery should, indeed, not only re-establish all the balances in the afflicted community. It should also contain some components of the mitigation phase (Blanchard 2007: 680), and become “an integral part of the response from the very beginning, as actions taken during the response phase can influence the longer-term outcomes for a community” (HM Government 2013: 10).

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1.3 Emergency Management and Communication

The main aim of emergency management is, as stated by FEMA (1998: 10),

to provide protection from all hazards for the citizens, properties, and governments within the United States. Effective emergency management includes a functional approach to all emergencies, cooperative planning, appropriate use of resources, and shared responsibilities among the […] levels of government.

Even if it is not mentioned, there is a fundamental word hidden in the previous quotation: information, which can only be provided through communication. The meaning of the previous statement will be explained in the following paragraphs: I will reflect on the role of communication in emergency management.

Haddow and Haddow (2014) argue that “communication is now universally accepted as critical function in emergency management” (p. 1). This assumption is based on the following principle: communication is essential before, during and after an emergency. In fact, each of the four phases of emergency management requires accurate information, and none of them would be effective without the “essential necessity” (de Mooij 2014: 1) of communication.

In an emergency management context, authorities providing the information should pay particular attention to their target public and respect the “customer focus” (Haddow and Haddow 2014: 6). There are different kinds of costumers (term used by Haddow and Haddow to name the public): “internal costumers” are disaster partners, staff and federal and state agencies, and “external costumers” are the general public, leaders and the social media, each with specific “special needs” (ibid.). Moreover, the authorities in charge should be held responsible for the gathering (“collation”), the choice (“assessment” and “validation”) and the following distribution (“dissemination”) (p. 5) of information both internally and externally. The philosophy that should be followed is: “placing the needs and interests of individuals and communities first, being responsive and informative, and managing expectations” (ibid.). Only then effective communication can be created.

Communicating means, basically, to provide, receive and exchange information. Emergency management strongly depends on such information, but there is a risk: information can often be misleading and dangerous. In fact, “maintaining the flow of information, within agencies, with partners, and to the wider public, is extremely challenging under emergency conditions”(HM Government, 2013: 20). Therefore, the role of the actors involved should not be underestimated. As underlined by the UK authorities, there are special preparatory measures at the basis of an effective information management; these measures should “build situational awareness and the development of the right situational picture at all levels” (ibid.).

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people can now have public access to information: in fact, technology “has […] blurred the lines between the reporter and the audience, between the disaster agency and the public” (ibid.). In conclusion, as communication is the key to emergency management, one might suggest that “using all the media mechanisms available to you is the key to success” (ibid.).

1.3.1 Communication and Mitigation

The support needed to develop a proper mitigation plan can be developed, according to Haddow and Haddow (2014), through “marketing” (p. 95). In short, in order to create the proper support and build an effective program, authorities have to be educated: first of all, they must be informed on the development of a mitigation plans for the communities involved; second, they must know how to collect and provide information that the media will then communicate to the public (ibid.). While it is true that this is something valuable for all emergency management phases, it is also noticeable that communication through the media is particularly relevant in the mitigation phase, it being, shortly, “preventing future emergencies or minimizing their effects”(FEMA, 1998: 4).

Among the different examples of mitigation plans communication, the Living Rivers Project in the Napa Valley can be considered relevant: the emergency authorities working on this project produced and distributed a lot of printed material, together with articles and interviews to officials. This is how the proposition for the mitigation plan passed and was later developed. It is in the Napa Valley that, as Haddow and Haddow (2014) underlined, that communication has improved the mitigation phase. In fact,

flooding impacts have been significantly reduced, sensitive environmental areas have been enhanced and preserved, and the local economy has seen a boom in investments in tourism-related projects (p. 97).

1.3.2 Communication and Preparedness

In order to develop and promote a proper preparedness program, the commitment of all of the parties involved, from the citizens of the areas prone or affected by disasters, to governmental and nongovernmental organizations; the media, too, play a crucial role. The main purpose of preparedness plans is to identify the possible risks in an emergency situation and to prepare to face them, limiting the damage.

As underlined by Haddow and Haddows (2014), there are different elements to consider in the development of an effective preparedness program. These elements are:

full participation of the communications staff in program design and implementation collection and presentation of all information, identification of target audiences, message development, use of a broad range of communications mechanisms […] and […]monitoring and updating communications strategies and tactics. (p. 99)

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officials and non-officials, and prepare them to deal with disasters.

1.3.3 Communication and Response

As previously suggested, communication is central also in this phase: in fact, “the primary purpose of communications activities in a disaster response is to provide accurate and timely information to the public” (Haddow and Haddow 2014: 107).

It is important to underline that, unlike in the two previous phases, mitigation and preparedness, “communication work in disaster response is about working in partnership with every interested media” in order to provide the public with accurate information. It is not about marketing nor promotional activities: it is about human relationships and trust. It is suggested that the people who have the responsibility and the power to deliver the message play a key role in communication: they should “put a human face on a disaster response and these people are critical to building confidence in the public that people will be helped and their community will recover” (ibid.).

1.3.4 Communication and Recovery

In this phase, as highlighted by Haddow and Haddow (2014), communication of “recovery information”is central (p. 117); this communication can operate through all the media. It is worth mentioning that the possibility of incongruous and misleading information usually increases in recovery, “as more organizations and groups become involved and accurate information about relief programs can be difficult to obtain” (p. 115). As the UK authorities underline (HM Government, 2013: 10), it is up to the appropriate information management systems to deal with the collection, the assessment and the distribution of the right information. The role of social media is fundamental in this phase.

Some of the main elements that, according to Haddow and Haddow (2014), can help develop effective recovery communication are the following: the first step is based on building an “information clearinghouse” (p. 117), which is a structure where the information coming from all kinds of sources is collected and analyzed. The media too are important: they can provide constant new and detailed news and information on recovery actions and programs and, together with “neighborhood communications networks” (p. 118) and “community relations teams” (ibid.), they can reach all the members of the community and “encourage them to apply for assistance” (ibid.).

1.4 The Concept and the Different Types of Communication

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on the relationship between two or more people and it involves the three following basic elements: “the communicator”, that is the person who communicates, “the message”, that is the element conveyed and transmitted, and, finally, “the receiver” (ibid.), that is the subject to whom the message is directed. Concerning the second type of communication, i.e. mediated communication, it “uses some form or medium other than by mouth” (p. 5).

It is relevant to underline the importance of the message as the link between the first and the second subject in the communication process: the message “exists as a sign or a collection of signs with no meaning of its own except […] what the people put into it and what the receivers take out of it, which follow the rules of the society in which they live” (ibid.).

Among the different kinds of communication within human and mediated communication, two elements are relevant in the discourse: intrapersonal communication and interpersonal communication. The first concept can shortly be defined as “the act of having an internal dialogue with oneself” (ibid.).

On the other hand, interpersonal communication exists between “a limited number of people” (p. 6) and it comprehends both verbal and, unlikely mediated communication, nonverbal communication. In fact, mediated communication lacks nonverbal elements such as “tone of voice, facial expression, and body language” (ibid.). Interpersonal communication is the kind of information transmission which is also used by the media and through the Internet. To be more specific, mediated interpersonal communication involves technological devices such as telephones, personal computers and other electronic devices through the Internet channels.

When it comes to channels of communication, it is relevant to notice that, in the passage from the communicator to the receiver, different channels can be used to put the message through; they will be seen in greater detail in the next paragraphs. For now, it is relevant to notice that a “technical or physical means is used” to transform “a message into signals that span time and space” (p. 7). Focus will be placed on mediated communication through mass media and social media. As suggested by Haddow and Haddow, the evolution of media and the diffusion of things such as smartphones and tablets have clearly encouraged the evolution of social media too. In fact, communication and the way communication is done have evolved too, especially in disaster-related situations:

The Internet and the social media have radically and irreversibly transformed the communication landscape. […] The Internet has created a ‘new’ news landscape and changed forever the way and speed in which the news is produced and consumed. (Haddow and Haddow 2014: 19)

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Internet-based tools, technologies, and applications which enable interactive communications and content exchange between users who move back and forth easily between roles as content creators and consumers are all components of social media. (p. 25)

While they state that “traditional media primarily facilitates one-way information dissemination”, they also suggest that social media such as social networks, blogs, digital mapping, video and photo sharing and, finally, wikis provide, on the other hand, “the platform for real-time two-way dialogue and interaction between organizations, the public, and individuals” (ibid.).

The actors involved in this new world are “user” and “participant” (Potts 2014: 8). While these terms might seem to have the same meaning, L. Potts cares to underline a basic difference: she uses “ ‘users’ when discussing the use of a system’s technology (e.g., single-task systems such as word processors and spreadsheets)”. On the other hands, she uses “ ‘participant’ ” as a subclass of the previous, in order “to emphasize participatory and community-oriented users who leverage their activities as points of mediation (e.g. writing articles […])” (ibid.). The element of participation is, according to Potts (2014), essential in mediated communication, as much as it is for de Mooij (2014) and for Haddow and Haddow (2014).

Focus will now return to the concept of mediated communication and, more specifically, on mass communication. There are three main characteristics that can define it, paraphrasing Severin and Tankard (2010) in de Mooij (2014: 22): first, mass mediation targets a large and heterogeneous audience; second, each message is provided publicly and often simultaneously to the audience. Third, the source of the information works within a more complex kind of organization.

Mediated communication can also be distinguished between intentional and unintentional; as de Mooij suggests, in most of the cases, it is intentional. The main types of intentional mediated communication that are worth referring to are the following ones, by Schramm (1974: 34) in de Mooij (2014: 9): “informational, instructional, persuasive and entertaining”. Concentrating on the aspects of information and persuasion, which are central in this study, there is a number of communication types that have specific purposes: as listed in the de Mooij (2014), these types are public communication, propaganda, development communication, health communication, advertising and public relations (p. 9).

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I will now shortly explain why propaganda and health communication are, even though only partially, inherent to this work. Propaganda, being “the technique of influencing human action by the manipulation of representations” (Severin and Tankard 2010 in de Mooij 2014: 9) in various forms (“spoken, written, pictorial or musical”), will be relevant when analysing the websites and the texts chosen, all related to flooding. Also, it can be suggested that the topic of health is obviously connected to the one of public security, in emergency situations in particular, as it is our case; health communication is indeed “a form of public communication concerned with public health” De Mooij (2014: 9, 10).

The concepts of intentionality and persuasion will now be highlighted. The Western communication theory is based on an interesting idea that leads to some reflections: not only is communication seen as a process and not a relationship, but also the concept of intention of communication constitutes the basis of this perspective (de Mooij, 2014). Moreover, persuasion itself “is assumed to be the conscious intention of the sender; it has a purpose and is expected to be effective” (p. 10). Both the intention and the effects that constitute the act of communication are, of course, influenced by the cultural backgrounds and the values of the subjects involved (ibid.).

As already suggested, communication cannot exist without information; indeed, communication was defined by Schramm (1974) in de Mooij (2014: 13) as “the sharing of an orientation toward a set of informational signs”. To be more specific, information can be categorized in three types (de Mooij, 2014): first, “syntactic information” (p. 14), that is a “sequence of signals” elaborated by the one who sends the information; second, “semantic information” (ibid.), that is “the meaning of the signals” based on social conventions. Finally, “pragmatic information […] refers to the social use of information” (ibid.), which is linked to the effect of the syntactic and semantic information on the receivers. It is important to underline that the perception of this information varies from people to people and that this difference can be related and/or influenced by the kind of relation that the people have with the media and with the perception of their contents (ibid.).

Another concept that is bound to the ones of information and communication is meaning: a general definition will now be provided, in order to establish a correlation between information and special languages. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines meaning as “the thing one intends to convey/is conveyed especially by language” (www.merriam-webster.com). In the field of written communication in particular, a new protagonist comes into play: language, that is how we receive and transmit the information. In the following section (1.4), special languages and languages in the scientific and technical fields will be dealt with; my work on emergency texts will be focused on them.

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It is important to emphasise what can make communication possible, that is language. A precise and homogeneous definition of this term is not easy to find. In fact, as de Mooij (2014) suggests, this term has acquired different nuances in each of its possible definitions: it can be, first of all, “a tool for meaning making and meaning exchange” (p. 43) and, being so, it is perceived as something natural and common to all human beings. It can also be seen “as a medium or machine that transmits messages” from a person to another. It can have a “creative function” (ibid.), but it can also be “a condenser of cultural memory” (Lotman 1990 in de Mooij 2014: 43). Language is thought to have two functions: “external communication with other human beings” and “internal manipulation of inner thoughts” (Vygitsky, first quoted in Goody 1897 in de Mooij 2014: 43).

Moreover, language could be represented through the following “grammar” (de Mooij 2014: 43), or structure: first, there is “the formation and composition of words”, that is morphology; second, “the formation and composition of phrases and sentences from these words”, that is syntax; third, there are the “sound systems”, that is phonology (ibid.).

Language is also the expression of values and the mirror of culture; as such, it can also influence culture (there are controversial opinions on this double influence). Moreover, as the values that influence or are influenced by language vary from country to country, so do the lexical items of each language in the world. As human beings, we cannot avoid feeling emotions; language is there to allow us to express them too.

It is relevant to notice that the word language in English, as it is for Sprache in German, can refer to two different terms that, even though they belong to the same context, have different meaning. In Italian language has two correspondents: ‘linguaggio’ and ‘lingua’. Graffi and Scalise (2002) underline this difference and define the Italian terms as follows: ‘linguaggio’ is “la capacità comune a tutti gli esseri umani di sviluppare un sistema di comunicazione dotato di […] caratteristiche proprie […] che lo distinguono da altri sistemi di comunicazione” (p. 24). These characteristics are discreetness and ‘ricorsività’ (ibid.). ‘Lingua’, on the other hand, is “la forma specifica che questo sistema di comunicazione assume nelle varie comunità” (ibid.), that are the different languages around the world. This distinction supports all the definitions listed by de Mooij (2014). It also helps to introduce the concept of special language and, in this specific study, the idea of “linguaggi specialistici” (Gotti: 1991) for scientific dissemination.

1.5.1 Special Languages and Scientific Dissemination

First of all, a definition of special language, also called LSP, that is Language for Special Purpose, is necessary. The linguist S. E. Wright (2011) uses the following definition:

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specific linguistic means of expression, [which] always include(s) subject specific terminology and phraseology and also may cover stylistic or syntactic features’. (ISO1087-1: 2000 in Wright 2011: 245)

As will be seen in Chapter 2 later, one should point out that special languages have a vocabulary which “is documented in specialized lexicography and terminological dictionaries and is supported today by electronic terminology-management systems” (Sager, McDonald, Dungworth 1980, Byrne 2006, Felber and Budin 1989 in Wright 2011: 245, 246).

Nonetheless, it is also important to underline that “special languages are not limited to vocabulary” (ibid.). In fact, translating and paraphrasing from Gotti (1991), the term special language can be referred to the use of language that experts and specialists do when mentioning to realities and concepts belonging to their field of study. The elements on which the development of this kind of language is based are the following: the type of user, the reality to which the language refers to and the special use of the language itself, that is the “uso specialistico che viene fatto del linguaggio” (p. 8).

Gotti introduces the concept of “poliedricità” (p. 9) of special languages: these kinds of languages can not only be distinguished on the basis of their lexicon and terminology, but also on context. In fact, the context is, together with the target reader, an internal element of these special languages. Experts discuss professional and specific topics in three main possible communication contexts: first, in the dialogue about issues related to their field of study, experts share the same knowledge and use the same lexicon. This situation produces, still according to Gotti (1991), a certain level of specificity in the use of the language: Widdowson (in Gotti 1991) calls it “scientific exposition” (p. 11). This is the case of communication through informative texts such as the fact sheets will be analysed later.

Second, experts might need to communicate their knowledge and some specific and important pieces of information to non-experts; they might use, in this case, special languages, but they could also provide explanations and definitions for the target public to understand as much as possible. This specific use of language is called “scientific instruction” (Gotti 1991: 11). The concept of “intento divulgativo” (p. 10, 11) finds its place in this background. Third, experts might choose and/or need to use simple common language in order to give clear and simple information about a technical topic, constantly referring to the everyday experiences of the common reader.

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As underlined by Gotti (1991), a special language is characterized by some specific characteristics; attention will be placed on a few of them: monoreferentiality (p. 17), emotional neutrality (p. 13), precision (p. 21), transparency (p. 22) and syntheticity (p. 25).

Hoffmann (1984) in Gotti (1991) provided a short list of other elements that could be taken into account when considering special languages: accuracy, simplicity and clarity (p. 13), information density and use of technical terms (ibid.). More generally, Shannon and Waver (1949) in Gotti (1991) suggest that special languages should “garantire accuratezza nella trasmissione del messaggio, precisione dei simboli linguistici per esprimere i significati desiderati” and, finally, the efficacy of the message that has to be communicated (p. 14).

The following sections will focus on the definitions of all the above-mentioned elements, to which, of course, there are some exceptions.

First, Bloomfield (1970) in Gotti (1991: 18) refers to monoreferentiality (p.17) with “univocità semantica”: this means that, between the term of the special language and the concept that has to be transmitted, there is an “ ‘accordo di definizione’ fisso”. In a nutshell, the term cannot be replaced by a synonym, but only by one definition or one periphrasis, limited to the specific disciplinary field and context in which each term is used (p. 18).

Second, a special language is characterized by “non-emotività” (Gotti 1991: 20), as all special terms have denotative functions and not connotative ones. It is also true that this emotional neutrality (p. 13) only prevails when the aim of the text is informative only; “quando invece lo scopo pragmatico diventa quello persuasivo (tipico, per esempio, del messaggio pubblicitario […] ) l’enfasi emotiva apparirà anche nei testi specialistici” (p. 21).

Third, “precision” (p. 21) is a characteristic of an immediate communication, and it is correlated to the concepts of accuracy, simplicity and clarity (p. 13). This concept is also linked to the idea of transparency (p. 13) mentioned above, that is the possibility of a “rapida decodificazione del significato di un termine tramite l’analisi della forma superficiale di esso” (p. 22). It is also true that, to paraphrase Lavoisier (1789) in Gotti (1991), special terms, defined as nomenclature in the field of chemistry (p. 22), should “rendere i fatti e le idee nella loro esattezza, senza soppressioni e senza aggiunte, in maniera del tutto speculare” (ibid.) and, one could suggest, without any ambiguity.

Finally, texts written in special languages are usually very synthetic: syntheticity (Gotti 1991: 25) is, in fact, the expression of concepts in the shortest and most minimalistic way possible in special texts, in the scientific domain in particular. This is usually done with the choice of a simple and basic syntax and with the use of expedients such as technical terms (p. 13), passive construction and neologisms. All of these elements provide, despite the brevity of the text, the sufficient information density (p. 13).

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as quoted in Gregory and Carroll (1978: 26). These fields can be otherwise called contexts. The notion of context returns once again: its three dimensions (see Hatim and Mason 1990: 57) will be clarified.

First of all, the idea of context is related to the one of register and register analysis. Wright thinks of register as something “ ‘polysemic’ ”: as quoted from Trosborg (1995: 5) in Wright (2011: 246), it can be defined as “an open-ended set of varieties (or styles) of language typical of occupational fields, such as […] medical language, technical language, etc.”.

Register can also be “associated with field of discourse (Quirk 1985) or levels of formality: ‘very formal, formal, neutral, informal, very informal’ ” (p. 246). It seems relevant to underline that:

depending on situational factors and the projected target audience, a given concept may be designated by different terms reflecting different registers within the same special language. (Wright 2011: 247)

Moreover, register and its usage also partially depend on “text type” and “text variety (genre)” (ibid.). On the one hand, text types “reflect the intention of the author as a sender of a speech act (Sager et al. 1980: 24) or the function of the text itself” (p. 247).

The text types that are most commonly found in the fields of science and technology are the following: “informative”, expressive”, “appellative” or “persuasive” and “phatic” texts (p. 248). Quoting from Wright (2011), while it is true that “informative texts” are the ones that prevail in science, it is also true that phatic elements can be found in science, when texts aim to support, for example, ideas or controversial positions. On the other hand, “text varieties have been related to special language levels: theoretical, experimental, applied sciences – technology, manufacturing, consumption – advertising, etc.” (ibid.).

Regarding science, the continuum of scientific and technical texts is represented in Figure 1.3 on the following page. With the words of Wright, this table distinguishes scientific texts on the basis of “presentation values, separating content-oriented texts with minimal print values from published works” (p. 249), where an important role is played by both the layout and the display (p. 251).

It is also noticeable that, always according to Wright:

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Figure 1.3 Continuum of scientific and technical texts; based on chart from Göpferich (1995) in Wright (2011: 250). Italics indicate instrumental modifications in the chart.

Based on the notion that there is a correlation between “ST” (Scientific and Technical) “register” (Gerzymisch-Arbogast H. in Wright 1993: 21, 22) and the function of the St text, research on ST register has been “systems- or langue-oriented, concentrating on such important lexical phenomena as frequency and distribution of terms and term-formation patterns resulting in neologisms and faux amis”. Moreover, as already mentioned, it has been studied that ST texts are usually characterised by long sentences, frequent nominalizations and much use of the passive (p. 22).

As quoted from Bühler (1934) in Wright (1993), it is true that ST texts, more specifically their structure, mirrors the text language functions: this “can be described as alternating sequences of ‘given’ and ‘new’ information” (p. 23). The terms “given” and “new” should be explained: information is “given” or “new” […] when the author of the text perceives such information as something that is, accordingly, “known” or “unknown” for the readers (p. 24). In fact, the authors’ final aim is to get the message through to the reader, and they do it by organising it “in a way that makes” it “identifiable to the reader” (p. 23).

The following consideration should be underlined: not only the information and the way it is given is influenced by the culture of both the author and the reader, but also

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‘new’ to the reader is proportioned” and “varies cross-culturally”. (Grice 1975: 46 in Wright 1993: 24, 25)

There are two main forms of the so called “reader-author contract” (ibid.), that is the relationship between them: on the one hand, in the “reader-oriented contracts” the authors aim to get “the reader’s ‘empathy’ towards the information presented” (p. 25). Their attention is focused on establishing a link between the “ ‘new’ information” and a situation which is familiar to the readers, thus creating what Gerzymisch-Arbogast called “closeness” (ibid.). On the other hand, “author-oriented register types” are focused on the “ ‘new’ message”, which is part of the competence and knowledge of the authors: they aim “to convince the reader of the importance of the ‘new’ message” (ibid.).

As suggested by Garzone (2006) scientific reporters and experts aim to the construction of their “average readers” (p. 88). More specifically,

there are specific relations of power between writers and addresses, and a gap between them in terms of pre-existing knowledge, beliefs and shared values. In each case, as journalists address their ‘particular’ audience (Perelman, Olbrechts-Tyteca 1958), they ‘construct’ it by presupposing certain sets of values, shared beliefs and pre-existing background knowledge (ibid.).

Emphasis should now be placed on the two main perspectives that lead to the creation and the communication of information, in a ST context in particular, as these notions could be useful in my later work.

The first perspective is, quoting from Wright (1993), a dynamic macro-level of Scientific and Technical texts, called “Information Dynamics” (p. 26): it is the description of how “authors proportion and sequence the ‘given’ and the ‘new’ information they want to convey” (ibid.). It consists of three main steps: the choice of the title, the process of initiating and the one of sequencing. Titles basically have their own conventions: they provide informative background, that is the information on what the text is about and on the attitude of the authors towards the text itself; they should also attract the readers’ attention, in order to induce them to continue their reading. Then, “initiating refers to the type of information presented […] at the beginning of a whole text or chapter” (ibid.); it has the same function of the titles. Finally, “information sequencing” is the way the information is presented throughout the text; it follows that chronological order or other rules are determined by cultural norms.

The second perspective is the static micro-level of ST texts, called “Information Packaging” (p. 31): “it is a static parameter” which measures the way in which the information is provided to the readers in a specific part, or “stage” in the text. It may include the passage from a certain degree of formal register to an informal one according to the reader the text is written for, the use of examples, references and the use of specific terminology and “terminological co-reference” (ibid.).

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i vari linguaggi specialistici si arricchiscono […] sempre più di internazionalismi, vale a dire di termini mistilingui che utilizzano lessico di origine straniera, adattato in genere alle lingue riceventi. (Gotti 1991: IX)

It is worth dedicating a short reflection to an idea that is spreading more and more not only throughout the academic world, but also in everyday common speech and life: English has become and is increasingly becoming “the hegemonic language in science” Wright (2011: 256). English is in fact called “the global language” (Crystal, 2002: 1). According to D. Crystal, this concept can be explained as follows: “A language achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country” (p. 3).

English is, due to political, economic and, most of all, historical reasons, the predominant language of globalization and of scientific dissemination; it is the language of power. In fact, as Wright (2011) underlines that English has been adopted as the working language all over the world. The reason for this is the following:

English today is the predominant language for leading-edge science. Not only are most scholarly articles originally published in English, but a relative low percentage of these articles are translated into other languages. (p. 256, 257)

Moreover, it is also true that there are a lot of differences, both in quality and in quantity at all linguistic levels, between the English which is used in common speech and the English used in technical contexts (Bareš 1972: 129 in Gotti 1991: 1).

1.5.1.1 Popularization of Scientific and Technical Texts

It is significant, at this point, to introduce one of the central concepts in our discourse: popularization. It finds its origins in the Victorian Age, more specifically from the Victorian patronizing “do-goodism” and detachment that result with being “irrelevant to today’s needs” (Goldsmith 1986: 14 in Garzone 2006: 81). In fact, being, according to Garzone (2006), “a largely unexplored territory […] carried out in a wide range of different channels” (p. 101), popularization needs to be revised.

The basic principle of this tendency is that specialized knowledge, science and technology in particular, should be spread and understood by all contemporary society, and not only by experts and by erudite people. The world of discoveries and progress is evolving constantly and rapidly and the public needs to be constantly updated. Popularization should involve different communication events such as mass-media, exhibitions and books, and provide “lay versions of scientific knowledge, as well as opinions and ideologies […] among the public at large” (p. 81).

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There is more than one reason for the desire of popularized scientific knowledge: first, the “practical argument” (Henriksen and Frøyland 2000: 393 in Garzone 2006: 83), that is the need to for a basic understanding and knowledge of technological and scientific matters in order to manage with daily life. Second, the “democratic (civil) argument”, that is the possibility to understand and deal with today’s modern society’s scientific questions. Third, “the cultural argument”, based on the notion that science is culture and everybody should have access to it and, last but not least, the “economic (professional) argument”: “a scientifically literate work-force is”, quoting Allan (2002: 55) in Garzone (2006: 83), “necessary for a sound and flourishing economy”.

There is another significant consideration to make; it was inspired by Garzone (2006: 83): as previously mentioned, in today’s society the demand for constant and accessible information is more and more undeniable. Issues such as climate change, food and disease crises and natural disasters are most of all managed by experts and reported worldwide by the media. While people should, of course, trust experts and the information given by the authorities, they should also be able to assert their own judgement and be prepared for a critical understanding of the facts and, most of all, conscious of the possible problems and solutions that the above mentioned agents have proposed.

In order to achieve balance between the experts delivering information and the public receiving it, what can be called bonding should be established. As suggested in one of the previous paragraphs, a “reader-author contract” needs to be sealed: writers should use some linguistic and discursive strategies, such as “different forms of definitions, reformulation and explanation terms” (Garzone 2006: 87); they should also remember that the public might have a limited shared knowledge or even no previous knowledge at all.

1.5.1.2 Popularization and Globalization

In order to create a connection between the idea of English as a global language and the need for popularization, the concept of globalization needs to be introduced. The definition of globalization by Robertson (1990) in de Mooij (2014) seems quite essential but complete: it is “the concrete structuration of the world as a whole” (p. 27).

Globalization has different meanings and applies to the most different fields, from business, to the world of culture and to media. In all of these contexts, nevertheless, globalization maintains one unchanged element: “interindependence” Giddens A. (2005) in de Mooij (2014: 27). In fact, “we have started to be much more dependent on other people than ever before, and part of the reason is that we are constantly in communication with them” (ibid.).

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hegemony” as “the complex ideas used by social groups to assert their legitimacy and authority”. On the basis of this supremacy and on consent, ideological order can be created (ibid.).

Different forms of hegemony have developed during the centuries. Today, as de Mooij proposes, “the popular press and television”, as much as all other media, “represent mass culture and, at the same time, shape an identity of the masses, with mutual consent” (p. 25). It is on the basis of these suggestions that the following sections will concentrate on the real communication channels used by the Italian Protezione Civile and by the American FEMA to provide their information, and, in short, to communicate.

1.6 Communication and the Media

This section will start with the assumption that information is not only communicated person-to-person, but everyone can be considered both a producer of information and a consumer (Haddow and Haddow 2014: xvii). In fact, the international and intercultural movement and spread of information that de Mooij (2014) calls “the global [..] flow of information” (p. 28) is produced and spread not only by the experts and by the agencies in charge of this communication, but also by the people who receive and consequently use this information in their everyday life.

As already suggested, the media play an important, if not essential, role in communication, and it is an active one: in fact, according to Garzone (2006), “The mass media are not passive mediators of scientific knowledge, but actively contribute in the production of new common knowledge and opinions about science and scientists” (p. 84). Of course, this is true in different fields, from scientific knowledge, to fields such as political issues, economic and health problems and gossip.

The anthropologist A. Appadurai (1990), quoted by de Mooij (2014), studied the global flow of information and categorised the process into five dimensions, or scapes: ethnoscapes, technoscapes, finanscapes, ideoscapes and mediascapes. Attention will be placed on the latest, mediascapes: they are represented by the “distribution of the capabilities to produce and disseminate information (newspapers, magazines, television stations, the Internet) and […] the images of the world created by these media” (p. 28). Moreover, the quantity of information is so wide that the distinction between real and unreal, or fictional scapes is not so clear, and the question of trust comes into play (p. 29).

It seems appropriate to point out that, as underlined by Haddow and Haddow (2014) the las five years have completely changed communication on and in disaster situations. In fact:

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In such a chaos, the need for effective communication is evident, as it is evident that there needs to be team work among all the components involved, that is individuals and communities (p. 15). The use of the media should be used as a central component in the dialogue between official organisations and volunteers, and common citizens; the media should allow to “meet people where they are, using tools and platforms they are already familiar with” (ibid.). Moreover, information should allow to take action for a “real-world impact”; only thus the authorities providing the information could contact and help the people involved in emergencies more quickly, and make communication effective. It is worth mentioning, quoting Haddow and Haddow (2014), how the media and, most of all, “the mix of old and new media” (p. 47) can contribute to improve emergency management actions and to save properties and, most of all, people’s life:

Gone forever is the old, one- way, top-down communications model government agencies once used to control the release of filtered, often dated information to the public – though a public information officer to traditional media outlets. (p. 53)

In fact, today people do not learn about a disaster after it has occurred: this model has been replaced by an “interactive exchange” that gave power to citizens by creating information networks that they themselves can use (p. 55). In the words of the experts, citizens can see “how the ‘sausage is made’” in real time” (p. 35) and act accordingly. This new news gathering process will continue to evolve together with technology itself. Indeed, “these technologies create new ways for citizens to be heard, governments to be held accountable, and the state to answer the failure of governance” (p. 56).

Moreover, as a result of the media having become, quoting de Mooij (2014), “an integral part of daily activities, personal relationships […] and media” (p. 243), the very first news of a disaster often comes from the voice of the citizens themselves; as a consequence:

information in the hands of citizens continues to instil fear and loathing in the minds of those who wish to manufacture public opinion to their benefit by the careful selection and publication of information. (Haddow and Haddow 2014: 57)

In a few words, the accuracy of information remains a problem (p. 85). In the following paragraphs, focus will be on communication channels, with specific reference to the channels used by the American FEMA and by the Italian Protezione Civile.

1.6.1 Communication Channels

De Mooij (2006) argues that, quoting from Jensen (1995), “mass communication is” constituted, philosophically speaking, by “a set of aesthetic products”, or machines, “and an everyday process or social practice” (p. 11).